Vehicle signal



May 1, 1923.

J. R. ALEXANDER VEHICLE SIGNAL 2 $heets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3, 1921 May1, 1923.

J. R. ALEXANDER VEHICLE SIGNAL Filed Oct. 3, 2 Sheets-Sheet 2J/ifi/ezandar Patented May 1, 1923.

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THOMAS -A.L ,EXA; NDBB, or Tome-p510.

VEHICLE SIGNAL.

Annlinatilm ma. October 3. 1921; swarm 504.978;

T5 "rill iohoml it concern:

a. citizen of time -United State residihgat inj'the eounty of Floyd a ndSfiqiteioflhj isnja, have invented certain new angiflusefoiIxhprovemenbs in Vehicle Sig-- nels,flofwhieh the following is a,specifics;-

ti013,', retference beinghed to the accompany in 'girawings.

invention relates to signalling 'de-' vices, perticuljerly tothose-'adaptedifot use on; vehicles; and has for its ob1eet the'pi'ovision of e device designed to be mounted u'on someeouvenientlocation on an automo ,ile Endbperable to apprise the driversof'eppgoeehmg andv follo'win vehicles ofjei igtndedchangejp theirectjon' offtl avel or o si a1 including a moveble member which w e 11in projected-position WiIl'indieate to the dfii'ei's ,of other vehiclesas well as j pedes triage that they, should roceed with caution.

A'n 'importal eobject is the provision of a, device oFthgis characterwhich includes illuminatin means whereby it may be used equally, wefi byhi ht; as by day, the illuminoting: men- 1s flu: ezimoreI being of sucha nature and so arranged 'as to beenergized;

automatically. when the signal member is rep'ved into.

an egcgensible hood of flexible tremolo.-

cent mabria-loff'suitable color this hood beautlmatif l1 llapsed w onthe signal is iri dnoperati e osition. Yet another ob eet is theprovision of a. signal which is provided with an automatic doorstructurewhich opens andoloses when the movable member is projected intoand subsequently withdrawn from signalling position,.the function of thedoor being, to exclude water and dirt and protect the inherior mechanismofzthe' device.

additional object'is theppovision of a device of this character wh chwill be simple and inexpensive in manufacture, easy toinstall, simple,to operate, positive in action; efiicient and durable in service and aeneral improvement in the ant.

ith' the above and other objects and adcontemplated stop, the

its projected or signalling posi Ah'othen obj'ectis -theorqyisionhofdevice the det siils of@dnsEfhGfiicaQ mfibe hemimiithr orefwflydescribdeansl oliihfledgl-md must; a tmt d in theacmmpanyingdrowingmg-in which 'Fig'ureij-l 1e anel vamon or "my? .devici' moug'itedupon a vehicle; Figfii-e Q is a longitudinal seasona thereflhfiohghwith't; "e' sioriil in F-i e 3 is"-'o'- fs'imi-lefiew 'shbwih ehb. siggmember-in 'emfitexided fgositiony -1gui4 ls eleviwiono one'afendfi;Figurefiisefi elevation QiE the-ofiherenm Figure (Sis anend'elevefliombf the-si im member eiohef; Figure-T1 1, dinum'mm'mtieview"o the electric oil-chit;

Eigiire 8 1s :fldfliil viewishowih'ghow the devmoimigh't f be used (is;a lam Reign-ring more 'articoierlyto ehedraw: ings; the'fle'fiEpAesighefies ar-p'orti'on of' 'a motor vehicie u'ponj'whidl" my devices.is moiiptegii' IirIoa ryi-iig' out my invention I provide anoldngtq'ffifd tuhe 10 preferably" of sheet metal and pioiiefly finishdtopresent ti; mar memheg 10pm lbjef mama; -'.upon* the'yehiole in any oneof wide-vai'iefiybf ways" though I hinge "flllxstrelzed' brackets 11whlch gre'seoulged "to smemonve iefiw pr-" fiionQithe'vehidq'prieribly-elongf-thei ash; so 131m;- hefdeyice"wi11"be.m'fronv'of the iv rilsndjtwiphi conYefiient mac-ha; he one endofthisffiobfIO i sflclos'etfhy a'oap 122L118 the other extends within aeas ng-13* whiclifhasfits, outerfaee formed with an ovel h'an i'ng cowll S hdalfie within thewqbe 101s e ;smaller' tube J 5 whichzheson'e endcarrying-a. socket lfiiimfitl iin wh ch is. egederiincendesceqt bulb17'. Carried by. this end ofrthe' tube 15 a frame :18 whichhosits'flontiend back coverechwithglass panes 19, one of which isfredsnd'ihe other ofwhich is ram and the 'outer;end" 2) of thisframe is" inil) mo e K's-sho n a and p ed WiiJh a suitable catch22.

sheets are also of clifirentjeoloifs' 'correno a shank 28 connected withthe inner tube and movable along a longitudinal slot 29 in the outertube, the ends of the slot being formed with lateral extensions 30within which the shank 28 may be engaged for holding the inner tube 15at either limit of its. movement. Secured within the outer shell 10 areguide rings 31 which serve as bearin s for the inner tube 15 when thelatter is slid longitudinally by the knob de vice above described.

In order to provide for ei er ization of; the lam 17 I provide two blning screws 32 and db which are secured upon a disk 34.- of insulatinmaterial carried b the cap 12 and these binding screws are a apted forconnection with wires 35 and 36 leadin from a suitable source of current:37 win may be the storage battery of the car or which might be drycells or the like. This disk 3% carries a stations contact 38 with whichcooperates a movab e contact 39 pivoted at 40 and having an operatinknob '41. This movable arm is connecte with the binding screw 33.Connected with the stationary contact 38 is a wire 42 which is 'andinsulated from one of the connected with a contact 43 secured upon guiderings 31. Located upon this same guide ring at a diametrically oppositepoint and insulated therefrom is a second contact &4 which is connectedb a wire 45 with the bindin screw 32. ecured upon the inner end 0 theinner tube 15 are contacts 46 and 47 carried by an outstanding flangeand connected with these contacts are wires and 49 respectively whichextend longitudinall of the tube and which are connected wit theterminal of the socket 16.

In order that the inner tube and associated parts will be protected fromthe weather, I provide a disk like plate 50 which is hinged at 51 uponthe outer face of the casing 13 and which normally extends straight downcovering the openin through which the tube 15 and associate parts may beprojected.

Assuming that my device has been constructed and mounted as abovedescribed, the operation is as follows: Ordinarily when the device isnot in use the tube 15 is held retracted within the tube 10 with theknob 27 engaged within the lateral extension 30 at the inner end of theslot 29. The frame surroundl n the incandescent bulb and the flexibleend will. then of course be disposed entirely within the outer tube 10and the plate 50 will be in depending position closing the opening inthe oils ing 13. When the operator contemplates turning in'eitlierdirection or nalu'n a stop he grasps the knob 27 pulls it orwardslightly and then slides it along 1 the slot 29 until it en ages withinthe other slot extension 30. is this is done the inner tube 15 isprojectedthro h the casing 13 into the osltion shown in i ure 3, the rib26 riding under the plate 5 and liftin the plate out of the way. As themovabe member leaves the casing 13 it is apparent that the inherentresilience of the spring arms 23 will causethem to spring outwardlydrawing the. fabric sheet-s24 taut and thus defiin ing a flattened hoodwhich is well calculated to attract the attention of the drivers offollowing and a proachingftrafiic and also pedestrians. en the. signalis thus operated it will of course warn others that they should proceedwith caution and watch for -further movements of the vehicle equippedwith the'signah When the contemplated change in direction has been madethe operator of course retracts the movable member within the tube 10where switch arm 39 is moved into its circuit clos ing osition whereuponwhen the inner mem r 15 is projected to signalling position theengagement of the contacts 46 and 47 with the cont-acts 4,3 and 44respectively will cause illumination 'ofth'c bulb 17 as the currentpassing from the source through the binding screws 32 and' 33 will beconducted through the wires 42 and l5 to and through the contacts 43 and44 and contacts 46 and 47 through the wires 48' and 49 and the filamentof'the bulb. When the signal is retracted and the contacts $6 and 4?disengage the contacts 43 and 44 the lamp 17 will be deenergized.

In order that the device ma be used as a parking lamp, I may provi e aseparate incandescent bulb within the upper portion of the casing 13 andof course connected with the source of current in the usual manliar andhaving some suitable switch associated therewith. In this event thefront of the casing, that is the side toward the front of the vehiclewould have to be tovided with an opening covered by pain glam whiletheside toward the rear would be provided with an opening covered with redglass. This structure is illustrated in one of the detail views in whichthe numeral 51 designates the bulb and the 'numerals 52, end 53designate respectively the white and red glass. 7 From the foregoingdescription and 1 a stud of the drawings it will be apparent that havethus provided a simply constructed and easily mstalled signallin devicefor use on automobiles, trucks an infect an vehicle whereby to wiu'ndrivers of other ve icles, pedestrians andtmfiic oflicers of acontemplated change in direction so that proper care may be exercised ball arties concerned to avoid collision anc tre 0 con-' gestion Owing tothe simplicit of the construction it is to be observed t at there isvery little likelihood of derangement and the device should consequentlyhave a. long life and be satisfactory in every way.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of theinvention it is of course to be readily understood that I re Serve theright to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement ofparts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the sco eof the subjoined claims. Having thus ascribed my invention, I claim:

'1. A signalling device for vehicles comprising an elon ted tubularmember, an

alling device for vehicles comprising a tubular support adapted to berommbly 'moumnt cesing' carried by the outer end of the support-endhaving an openmg registering with theboreof an overhanging (cowl carriedb face of the cesing,a Tplate pivote below said cowl end-normallyclosinthe opening in the casing, said support born the support;

lateral extensionsf e moveble member slidable within said tubularsupport'and having an operating knob extending'throu l1 said slot, asignal element-carried by outer end of said movable member, and a rib onsaid movable member engageeble with Said plate whereby to lift the samewhen the movable member is slid into projected position '3. A.signalling device vehicles com prising a tubular support adapted to beretetebly mounted, a. casin carried by the outer end'of the suport-eifil having an opening registering wit :the bore of the su port;an' over angingcowl cerriedxby t e outer faceof the casing,' *q, .pla.tepivoted below said cowl and normally closing the opening in the casing,said support being formed with a longitudinal slot provided at im endsthe outer v v .formedfwith a. longitudin l-slot pr v de at itsendsjwith:

with lateral extensions,-.e movable =1nember slidable within saidtubular sup ort: and her! ing an operating knob throu b said 51 fasignal element" carried by t e outerlen of said moveble member, and arib on said movable member engageable with said late whereby to lift'thesame whenthe move le member is slid into.

sition; said signal element eomprisinge col-" lepsible hood of flexiblematerial automotically expanding when said niovablemember is 811d intoprojected position, the-rib constituting a protector-forthe hood. I

y In testimony wher eof I hereunto aifix my signature.

JOHN R. ALEXANDEB.

Projected P

